Pet Wellness Care & Exams

Just as a person would have a yearly exam at their own doctor’s office, we recommend yearly physicals for all patients.

Routine health exams are one of the most important steps you can take in order to maintain your cat or dog’s health. At East Longmeadow Animal Hospital, we recommend that your cat or dog has a routine wellness check-up once a year to ensure your pet is happy and healthy.

Our wellness check-ups are a simple and effective way of monitoring your cat or dog’s health. In addition to a full snout to tail exam, we may customarily recommend the following for your pet:

• Fecal parasite testing
• Vaccinations
  • Rabies (Canines and Felines)
  • Feline/Canine Distemper (Canines and Felines)
  • Canine Parvovirus (Canines only)
  • Canine Hepatitis (Canines only)
  • Feline Calicivirus (Felines only)
  • Feline Rhinotracheitis (Felines only)
• Baseline bloodwork and/or urine screening
• Heartworm and tick panel screening tests
• Preventative medicine
  • Flea and tick topicals or oral medication
  • Monthly heartworm medication

Cats and dogs age seven years for every one human year. This means that even being seen once yearly would be like a human getting a check-up every seven years. Our pets often can’t express when they are suffering from an illness or disease and may not present symptoms with the onset of an illness or disease. These routine check-ups may in some cases allow the doctor to recognize early signs of illness that would otherwise not necessarily be noted at home. Remember, for an owner that sees the pet every day, gradual changes aren’t as easily noticeable. We may recommend biannual exams for senior pets and pets with chronic disease.

Some signs that your pet may be suffering from an illness or disease include:

• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Decreased activity or lack of appetite
• More or less frequent urination
• Coughing
• Hair Loss / Itchy Skin
• Difficulty moving – stiffness or lameness